The hot weather in Thailand, unhealthy diet, stress and wrong use of shampoo are factors that cause excess oil production in our scalp. Prolong usage of helmet and poor hygiene conditions relating to headgears and helmet also irritates and causes the scalp to overproduce oil. Excess oil builds up on the scalp causing hair follicles to get clogged.

Example of clogged hair pore

The condition is scientifically known seborrheic dermatitis. This condition is triggered by oily scalp and an overgrowth of yeast. Bacteria and yeast can infect the hair follicles leading to the itchiness felt in your scalp!

Poor hygiene is another main culprit. Poorly kept scalp induces the production of sebum in the scalp. If hair is not washed with right shampoo frequent enough, the oils on the scalp will accumulate. Oily scalp can even lead to dandruff, dandruff caused by excess oil are yellowish in colour and the flakes are larger than their counter-parts caused by dry scalp.

Under a hair microscope it could look like this:

example of oil accumulation on scalp

In the short-run, no. However, in the long-run, if left untreated, it could lead to hair loss. This is why:

If you are prone to scratching your scalp, you could introduce bacterial or fungus to broken skin on the scalp. You may even damage your hair follicles from frequent scratching. Therefore, indirectly, oily scalp can lead to hair loss.

Even if you are able to resist scratching, that is not the end of the story. When hair pores are clogged for too long, the supply of nutrients to the hair will be inhibited; hairs growing out from these clogged pores are not healthy and this may lead to thinner hair and loss of hair volume.